Security forces clear Karachi police office, terrorists killed

Security forces have successfully cleared the Karachi Police office that was attacked on Friday, said officials, who added that all terrorists were killed in the operation.

Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui, official of the Sindh government, said four people were also martyred, including two policemen, one Rangers personnel, and a civilian. Another 14 people were injured, added Siddiqui.

Multiple explosions had been heard earlier after the police office at Shahrah-e-Faisal was attacked by five assailants in the provincial capital. The attack took place a little after 7pm.

A counter-terrorism operation featuring personnel from Pakistan Army, Rangers and Sindh Police was launched in response.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility for the attack in a message sent by its spokesman to journalists.

Staff inside the premises of the police office had earlier turned off the lights and blocked all entrances. However, reports said the armed suspects managed to enter the building.

Three floors of the five-storey building have been cleared, said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah earlier.

Multiple explosions and continuous firing then followed after police sealed off traffic on the main road through the city.

Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui earlier said there have been two casualties, while 11 people are injured.

Heavy contingent of Rangers and police teams as well as rescue services reached the area earlier in an attempt to secure it.

Murad Ali Shah, the Sindh CM, said that the attack took place around 7:10pm, adding that he received information that two terrorists had been killed so far but said that he could not give any confirmation at this time.

He said that the provincial govt had asked the army for help, adding that the city police chief was not currently in Karachi.

In an initial interaction with the media, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said assailants managed to enter the third floor of the building.

“They fired a rocket at the building. We are currently unable to contact the police personnel inside the building,” the minister told a private news channel, SAMAA TV, as the situation was unfolding.

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori called to send additional security officials to the area in a bid to control the situation.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, also the co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party that runs the government in Sindh, condemned the “terrorist attack on Karachi police”.

“Sindh police have bravely faced and crushed terrorism before. We have full faith they will do so again, such cowardly attacks will not deter us,” he wrote on Twitter.

The terror attack is the latest in a series of brazen assaults especially targeting Pakistan’s security forces. Earlier, a suicide bomber targeted a mosque next to the Police Lines in Peshawar in January.